Myths Begin From Boys' Gong

Therefore, Meng Zhao still focused on the senior brother of Hong Minghui, who was shrouded in mystery but was very likely the mastermind behind all the conspiracies.

"Do you know that Hong Chengtong once took in a disciple, who later had a conflict with him and left the Hongmen?"

He returned to the Hongmen a few years ago, but he did not work under Hong Chengtong. Instead, he helped Cao Quan'an.

By the way, this person should have a close relationship with Cao Quan'an's youngest son.

This person is definitely not an unknown figure in the Hongmen, so Meng Zhao believed that Yan Congke would still give him an answer.

After listening, Yan Congke nodded and said,
"Of course I recognize him. This man is named Ren Tianxing. He is the number one expert among the younger generation in Longxiang County. He possesses the Lingxi Gong passed down by Hong Chengtong and has also learned Cao Quan'an's Bahu Shaquan from Cao Quan'an."

Oh, and he also learned a miraculous skill from somewhere, which is said to be able to shift and transfer all kinds of energy, making it a divine skill.

Therefore, Ren Tianxing held a very high position of prestige within the Hongmen.

"Rumor has it that Ren Tianxing actually wanted to marry his junior sister Hong Minghui back then."

However, Hong Chengtong did not want to marry off his daughter, but only wanted to find a son-in-law, which caused a rift between the two and they could not mend their relationship.

Therefore, Ren Tianxing left the Hongmen in anger, but he must have come to a realization later.

It's also possible that Hong Minghui has truly found a suitable son-in-law, and the past conflicts no longer exist.

That's why Ren Tianxing returned to the Hongmen and reconciled with Hong Chengtong.

However, because of his relationship with Hung Ming-hui, he also chose to join Tsao Chuan-an's faction.

The growing influence and power of Cao Quan'an's faction over the years is inseparable from Ren Tianxing's meticulous management.

"Cao Quan'an is not young. After his eldest son was killed a few years ago, he became very depressed and hardly ever attended to affairs."

Over the years, I've basically followed Ren Tianxing's lead.

Upon hearing this information, Meng Zhao's expression shifted slightly. He was genuinely unaware that Cao Quan'an had already delegated most of his power.

"So, Cao Quan'an is only the nominal leader of the Cao faction, while Ren Tianxing actually controls most of the real power?"

Yan Congke thought for a moment, then nodded.

"That's roughly the case, because Cao Quan'an has rarely shown his face in recent years, and most of the time, Ren Tianxing has been the one handling the affairs."

However, with Hong Chengtong's death, he couldn't sit still any longer and thus returned to the forefront to take control of the situation.

Meng Zhao shook his head. It might not be that Cao Quan'an stepped forward voluntarily. It was more likely that this deputy leader of the Hongmen had become a puppet and was being manipulated by others.

His original plan was to reach a short-term alliance acceptable to both sides through Cao Quan'an, and to retrieve Kou Laoxi's treasure first.

Because the information he had previously learned was that Cao Quan'an was the deputy leader and had his own group of people and forces within the Hongmen.

Ren Tianxing, at best, used Cao Quan'an's youngest son to coerce him into taking action.

Now it seems that things may not be so simple.

If Cao Quan'an was indeed sidelined by Ren Tianxing, then Hong Chengtong's death might not necessarily be related to him.

Although Ren Tianxing and Hong Chengtong were not related by blood, they shared a father-son bond.

Based on this reasoning, it's possible that Cao Quan'an betrayed or plotted against Hong Chengtong, and Ren Tianxing is not far off the mark.

After Hong Chengtong's death, Cao Quan'an was sidelined by Ren Tianxing. If his youngest son were also controlled by Ren Tianxing, he would have no choice but to submit to him.

Therefore, his initial idea of ​​relying on Cao Quan'an's power is probably no longer feasible.

The best and most direct way is to go directly to Ren Tianxing.

He was the focus of the whole affair, and perhaps also the driving force behind it.

Now that we've identified the core and the key, there's no need to get bogged down in the details; the right approach is to go directly to the problem and solve it.

However, the problem here is that Ren Tianxing is not alone; he has a powerful force surrounding him.

Even though Meng Zhao was confident and had achieved the Three-Part Return to Origin Qi, he could only say that he could suppress Ren Tianxing, not that he could take on the entire Hongmen single-handedly.

The martial arts of this world have too many limitations, which are beyond human control. Meng Zhao can only act within this framework as well.

Otherwise, if you are too careless and get outsmarted, there is still a possibility of things going wrong.

"If my estimation is correct, Ren Tianxing has indeed sidelined Cao Quan'an. He himself wields considerable power, and while he may have some control over Cao Quan'an's youngest son, he is not entirely without any flaws."

If Cao Quan'an's youngest son can be rescued, and Cao Quan'an's prestige can be used to expose Ren Tianxing's plot to murder his master, Hong Chengtong.

That would be enough to dismantle his power structure, and then he would be much easier to deal with when he was all alone.

In a one-on-one situation, Meng Zhao was not afraid of Ren Tianxing.

Furthermore, Meng Zhao never doubted whether Cao Quan'an possessed such capabilities.

He was, after all, the vice leader of the Hongmen, and had been running the organization for so many years. It was just a moment of carelessness that gave Ren Tianxing an opportunity to take advantage of him.

If he were younger, or if his eldest son were still alive, he would never have let power slip away.

Even if he was wrong, Meng Zhao was not worried at all.

Because there are two other candidates, Jin Laosi and Shi Qi, who, as vice leaders of the Hongmen, also have enough credibility and prestige to inform the Hongmen about this matter and gain the support of most of the members.

After all, he still holds Hong Minghui in his hands, which is the sword of justice. Whoever can win her over will have the last laugh.

Of the two, Jin Laosi was actually the backup of the backup.

He didn't know this person, but judging from his behavior, he wasn't a smart person, and was even somewhat foolish.

Moreover, his reputation is now bad, and he has been incited by people with ulterior motives to suspect that he is the murderer who murdered Hung Shing-tung.

As a result, Jin Laosi's prestige within the Hongmen actually declined considerably, and Hong Minghui might not be willing to cooperate with him.

Ishizaki, on the other hand, is a smart man. He has remained neutral and done nothing. This approach of doing nothing is better than doing less and making fewer mistakes. Perhaps he lacks a bit of drive, but it is steady enough.

Of course, these are just options; the best choice is still Cao Quan'an.

If Cao Quan'an really had nothing to do with Hong Chengtong's death, and was simply used by Ren Tianxing to take the blame...

"Zheng-ge'er, what are you planning to do next?"

Although Yan Congke was a desperate man who was not afraid of death, he did not want to fight Meng Zhao like an egg against a rock, and the two of them would attack the huge Hongmen.

A true warrior, but his death must have been horrific.

"Find an opportunity to meet Cao Quan'an, preferably in a secluded place, just the two of us alone."

Do you know where Cao Quan'an is now? Do you have any news about him?

Relying on Yan Congke to make contacts is mostly unreliable, so Meng Zhao plans to take matters into his own hands.

With his martial arts skills, he could easily bypass any patrol that wasn't particularly outrageous.

"As long as a safe and reliable environment is created, Meng Zhao will be able to clarify the matter and is confident that he can persuade Cao Quan'an," Yan Congke thought for a moment and said.

"Brother Zheng, please wait patiently for a moment. I'll go and find out the information for you right now."

With that, he walked out of the house and disappeared without a trace.

However, Meng Zhao was very patient. He stayed in the main hall, his eyes slightly closed, to calm his mind.

Time passed slowly, and the heavy rain outside continued incessantly. Finally, Yan Congke returned, soaked to the bone.

At the same time, they also brought back the location where Cao Quan'an is now.

"Why is he at Drizzle Manor?"

Meng Zhao originally thought that Cao Quan'an would be placed in the Hongmen headquarters, so that Ren Tianxing could monitor and control him.

If he were to leave the headquarters, Cao Quan'an, being no useless person, would certainly try to break free from Ren Tianxing's control.

Yan Congke was somewhat familiar with this Xiyu Villa, which wasn't far from the small house he had purchased.

It occupies a large area and uses spring water to revitalize the entire facility.

It has its own internal system and is self-sufficient.

Back then, Cao Quan'an spent a lot of money and manpower to build such a villa.

In the past, whenever the heat became unbearable in Longxiang County, the senior members of the Hongmen would go to Xiyu Mountain Villa to escape the heat.

Meng Zhao wasn't one to overthink things; once he got the information he wanted, he left without hesitation.

The two of them, one in front of the other, headed towards Xiyu Villa, a well-known place in Longxiang County, amidst the raging wind and rain.

After passing a row of houses, you enter a large area of ​​mountain villa territory enclosed by walls several meters high, which resembles a small society inside.

According to the information Yan Congke had, the villa was divided into three parts.

The outermost perimeter consists of the residences of many Hongmen disciples and their relatives and family members, protecting the center.

The middle layer consists of large terraced fields, which are not planted with grains, but with various medicinal herbs used to refine secret medicines.

The innermost floor was where high-ranking members of the Hongmen, such as Cao Quan'an, lived.

It is said that when the Xiyu Villa was first established, Cao Quan'an left corresponding residences for his sworn brothers and other high-ranking members of the Hongmen. Each building was no less impressive than the one he lived in, proving the brotherhood and camaraderie among the members.

Yan Congke leaned against a large, densely growing tree to shelter from the rain. At the same time, he took a branch and wrote and drew on the muddy ground, seemingly trying to tell Meng Zhao all the information he knew about Xiyu Villa.

However, his drawing skills were far too abstract. Although his words were somewhat coherent, when combined with the drawings on the ground, they became a complete joke.

Meng Zhao patted him on the shoulder and said,

"Alright, go back and wait for my news. Although this manor is not small, with my martial arts skills, I can come and go as I please, as if walking on flat ground!"

Having said that, without waiting for Yan Congke to say anything, he used his Wind God Leg technique, blending into the wind and rain, and gracefully flew towards the interior of Xiyu Manor.

Yan Congke wanted to chase after him, but upon closer inspection, Meng Zhao had already disappeared, so he could only leave dejectedly.

Deep down, Yan Congke still has a bit of an adventurous spirit; he's not quite used to an overly ordinary life.

Having been tasked with gathering information several times in a row, his heart began to stir with desire.

Bloodshed and slaughter are the main themes of this martial arts world.

However, Yan Congke was not in a hurry. He would just wait and see how Meng Zhao kept inquiring about the internal affairs of the Hongmen. There would be no shortage of fighting in the future.

Meanwhile, Meng Zhao, using his superior agility, blended into the wind and rain, swept into the Misty Rain Manor, and continued walking without stopping towards the very center.

Because of the heavy rain today and the late hour, they encountered almost no one, which increased Meng Zhao's chances of success.

After a long time, Meng Zhao finally arrived at a cluster of buildings rising from the flat ground.

Behind them are vast terraced fields, as well as irrigation canals and streams that draw water from mountain springs.

Ahead lay a continuous stretch of tall buildings.

The buildings are all made of green bricks and red tiles, with rows of stone lions sitting in front of the gate, and different plaques hanging above the gate.

Among them, in front of the gate with the plaque bearing the character "Hong" hanging on it, there is a white cloth tied up, which should have been hung up after Hong Chengtong's death.

With a light leap, Meng Zhao soared several meters high, landing in mid-air beside the courtyard wall of one of the residences.

After a thorough search, they finally found Cao Quan'an's residence in the far east.

Unlike other nearly empty mansions, which only housed a few servants.

Inside and outside the Cao residence, there were Hongmen disciples wielding weapons everywhere.

There were four guards at the main gate alone, all of them strong, muscular, and skilled martial arts practitioners with bulging temples.

Inside the courtyard, there were guards every three steps and sentries every five steps, making it an impregnable fortress with maximum security.

However, this further confirms Meng Zhao's suspicions that Cao Quan'an has likely been sidelined by Ren Tianxing and has lost control of his subordinates.

Right now, it's less like I'm living in the Misty Rain Manor and more like I'm under house arrest there.

However, these people alone are probably not enough to trap Cao Quan'an.

The fierce tigers of the Hongmen, who carried out great projects of territorial expansion in their early years, are by no means useless old men.

On the contrary, his martial arts skills, honed over decades, should be even better than before.

The fact that we are not moving at the moment simply means that we cannot move, not that we lack the ability.

"The key lies with his youngest son. The reason Cao Quan'an was manipulated is because he couldn't let go of the bond between father and son, and the deep affection he had for his son!"

Given the terrifying and heavily guarded security system inside this courtyard, even under normal circumstances, Meng Zhao wouldn't be able to guarantee that he could sneak in undetected.

However, now the weather is cooperating, with torrential rain greatly disrupting the sound and the pre-arranged communication, which gives Meng Zhao a convenient opportunity.

As thunder roared across the sky once more, lightning ripped through the night, and wind and rain followed, Meng Zhao, using the unique nature of his movement technique, silently blended into the chaos, finally arriving at the top of a heavily guarded room as if it were nothing.

At this moment, Meng Zhao dispersed his true energy into his body, creating an invisible energy shield that repelled the rain. At the same time, his five senses were amplified to the extreme, adhering to the roof ridge.

Several clear voices came from under the eaves.

"What you've said isn't important. Right now, I don't want to get involved in the ins and outs of the martial world anymore. If you have anything, go find Ren Tianxing."

He has full authority to represent me and make any decisions; you must not disobey him.

"Chunsheng, I'm so glad you came to see me this time. From now on, you don't owe me anything anymore. Do whatever you want."

I hope that you can live freely without any worries, without having to carry anything or suppress anything!
"Alright, that's enough, I'm tired!" (End of Chapter)